If Game 1 of the Padres’ 2014 season was one of “no quit,” then Game 2 was simply one of “not quite.”

First and foremost, it wasn’t quite Opening Day. The Padres had marketed the game as such, yes, but little about the vibe agreed with the title.

The opening ceremonies, the player-by-player introductions, the trio of David Wells, Brian Giles and Mark Loretta tossing out the first pitch? It felt as awkward as it was ambitious.

Come on, there’s only one Opening Day, and it doesn’t take place when your team has already logged nine innings in its home stadium.

The fans seemed to agree. The 35,033 occupied seats were more than 10,000 less than what Petco Park saw Sunday night. Maybe it had something to do with the weather. The game-time temperature was, after all, 62 degrees – glacial by San Diego-springtime standards.

But let’s be honest. The Padres are a lot like the Del Mar racetrack right now. Fans will come out in masse for the first event of the year, then the audience becomes much more exclusive.

So how do you fix that? Pretty simple: You win games. And to win games, you minimize the blunders and capitalize on the opportunities. San Diego didn’t do that Tuesday. Sticking with the horse-racing theme, in their 3-2 loss to the Dodgers – the Padres seemed to miss everything by a nose.

For example, there was Ian Kennedy’s 2014 debut. San Diego’s starting pitcher was a Cy Young candidate in 2011, when he won 21 games with the Diamondbacks. He dropped off considerably in 2012, (15-12 with a 4.02 ERA) and was even worse in 2013 (7-10, 4.91), when he was traded to the Padres in late July.

But the thinking was that Kennedy would greatly benefit from an offseason with esteemed Padres pitching coach Darren Balsley. Did we see signs of significant improvement Tuesday?

Eh, not quite.

Yes, 65 of Kennedy’s 103 pitches were strikes, as several hitters prolonged their at-bats with a flurry of foul balls. But when you give up three runs in five innings – including a two-run home run to Yasiel Puig in the first, you’re not exactly telling the world “I’m back.”

But he did give his team a chance. And many chances the Padres had. As San Diego manager Bud Black said, “We had some opportunities, which was great. We were just never able to get that big hit.”

Opportunity 1: With his team down 3-2, Padres outfielder Seth Smith led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a single. The next batter was Chase Headley. He grounded into a double play.

Opportunity 2: With his team down 3-2, Smith walked with one out in the bottom of the eighth to put runners on first and second. The next batter was Chase Headley. He grounded into a double play.

Opportunity 3: With his team down 3-2, Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso led off the bottom of the ninth with a single to right field. Two batters later, Will Venable singled, moving Alonso to third. Two batters later, Yasmani Grandal walked, loading the bases for Nick Hundley with two outs.

Hundley struck out swinging. Game over.

If Game 1 was the yin for San Diego, Game 2 was no doubt the yang. The Padres premiere demonstrated everything that can go right, while their follow-up did the opposite.

This is a team that has little if any margin for error, and if it is going to compete for a postseason berth, can’t let opportunities like the ones it had Tuesday get away.